HONG KONG (AP) - Asian shares exhibited mixed performance on Wednesday as Wall Street experienced losses primarily driven by technology stocks. Meanwhile, gold and silver prices continued to recover after a recent decline, prompting investor interest in safe-haven assets amidst geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties.
In Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.6% to close at 54,391.58, although it remained higher than earlier in the week. Several technology-related stocks faced downturns, with chipmaker Tokyo Electron witnessing a 2% decline and testing equipment manufacturer Advantest dropping 1.6%. Conversely, SoftBank Group managed a modest increase of 0.2%.
Notably, shares of Nintendo plummeted over 10% despite the company reporting strong profits, raising investor concerns about sustaining sales momentum for its recently launched Switch 2 game console.
South Korea’s Kospi, in contrast, gained 0.8% to reach 5,331.02, despite some weakness observed in technology stocks. Market giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw their shares fall by 0.2% and 1.4%, respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index recorded a 0.8% decline, closing at 26,629.81, while the Shanghai Composite index remained unchanged at 4,067.39.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded higher, up 0.7% to 8,917.40, and Taiwan’s Taiex rose marginally by 0.2%.
Gold and silver prices rose significantly on Wednesday as market participants sought refuge from escalating geopolitical issues and the fluctuating U.S. dollar, along with uncertainties related to tariffs. Gold surged by 2.8%, closing at $5,070.30 per ounce, while silver rose 4.8% to $87.29 per ounce. The recent uptick follows a troubling sell-off in which gold had fallen to less than $4,500 on Monday and silver had dropped over 31% on Friday.
According to analysts at ING Bank, the renewed interest in precious metals comes after a significant correction in prices. They noted that the underlying macroeconomic narrative for gold remains robust, with safe-haven demand expected to support prices in the medium term.
On the previous day, U.S. stock markets had a downturn, particularly affecting technology stocks. The S&P 500 index declined by 0.8%, or 58.63 points, bringing it to 6,917.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.3%, or 166.67 points, to 49,240.99, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.4%, or 336.92 points, to 23,255.19.
Notably, Nvidia, a giant in the tech industry, saw its stock fall by 2.8%, and Microsoft reported a decline of 2.9%. Investor sentiment was influenced by concerns regarding the potential overvaluation of tech stocks and doubts about the returns on substantial investments in artificial intelligence.
Additively, PayPal's shares plummeted by 20.3% after disappointing quarterly results, while Pfizer experienced a 3.3% drop despite posting stronger-than-expected profits.
In the bond market, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell to 4.27% on Wednesday, down from 4.29% late Monday. This decline in yield indicates rising bond prices, reflecting a stronger appetite for safe investments among investors.
Early trading on Wednesday also saw U.S. benchmark crude oil prices rise by 0.6%, reaching $63.60 per barrel. Additionally, Brent crude, the international standard, increased by 0.5% to $67.66 per barrel. The increase in oil prices is partly attributed to escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, following an incident involving a U.S. Navy fighter jet shooting down an Iranian drone near a U.S. aircraft carrier.
As for currency exchanges, the U.S. dollar appreciated against the Japanese yen, moving up to 156.25 yen from 155.72 yen. The euro also strengthened, trading at $1.1824, slightly up from $1.1819.
